viviparity
viviparity — noun
1. A biological reproductive method in which an animal's offspring grow inside the
A biological reproductive method in which an animal's offspring grow inside the parent's body and are born as live young, rather than being laid as eggs that develop outside.
In reptiles, viviparity has evolved independently in skinks, chameleons, and certain sea snakes.
collocation: viviparity has evolved independently in [group]
Indra compared the energy demands of viviparity and egg-laying in her thesis on freshwater fish.
collocation: viviparity compared with egg-laying
Among sharks, viviparity is the most common reproductive mode, seen in hammerheads and bull sharks.
The transition to viviparity lets some lizards control the temperature of their developing embryos.
- live birth
less technical, everyday term; viviparity is the formal scientific label
- oviparity
the opposite reproductive strategy — laying eggs that develop outside the parent's body
- ovoviviparity
a middle strategy where eggs hatch inside the mother but the embryos receive no direct nutrition from her body
文法句型
used as uncountable noun
用法筆記
Primarily used in academic writing about animal reproduction. Frequently contrasted with oviparity (egg-laying) and ovoviviparity (eggs that hatch inside the mother but receive no placental nourishment). Subject of the sentence is typically a taxonomic group (reptiles, fish, amphibians) or a biological concept (the evolution, the transition).